OU Football Falls in AP Poll After Disappointing SEC Opener

Oklahoma will have some work to do after a rough SEC opener.

On Sunday, the AP Poll was released following a wild slate of games on Saturday. Oklahoma fell to No. 21 in the poll after a rough outing against Tennessee in its first SEC contest. 

In the 22-9 loss against Tennessee, the Sooners’ defense showed it is ready for the grind of an SEC schedule. However, the other defenses in the SEC are not exactly concerned about facing the Sooners’ offense.

After Oklahoma had no rhythm for most of the game, Brent Venables chose to insert Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback. Hawkins played well and led Oklahoma on its only touchdown drive. The spark Hawkins gave the Sooners late could be enough to earn him the starting spot over Jackson Arnold in their next contest.

Sooners have steep climb in SEC

Oklahoma is one of nine SEC teams in Sunday’s AP poll, with the conference controlling five of the top six spots. After beating the Sooners, Tennessee moved up to No. 5, but Josh Heupel’s team is far from the only tough game on the conference schedule.

Throughout the rest of the season, Oklahoma will face only three teams that are currently unranked. The Sooners face Auburn next week on the road before hosting South Carolina and Maine later in the year.

While the SEC is the premier conference in college football, Oklahoma’s schedule is ridiculously tough, even by conference standards. Oklahoma has five top 25 teams on its remaining schedule, including three top 10 squads. The team’s home finale against Alabama is the only one of those games the Sooners will play in Norman.

Considering the offensive struggles Oklahoma has had in the first few weeks, if a quarterback change or other adjustments don’t turn things around, the Sooners could be on the verge of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1998.

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